Day for the Atlanta Braves and has two All-Star Games on his resume Babe Ruth Jersey , but where the right-hander might fall in a postseason rotation remains in doubt.At least Teheran is a solid starting candidate now after appearing to be on the outside looking in during the first four months of what was shaping up as a very disappointing season.The victim of too many walks and home runs much of the season, the 27-year-old from Colombia is on the upswing as he faces the Washington Nationals on Saturday in the middle game of a weekend series at SunTrust Park.Article continues below ...Teheran (9-7, 3.95 ERA) has quality starts in five of his past six outings and has posted a 2.33 ERA with a 34-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio and just two homers allowed in that span.The Braves (83-64) kept their lead over the Philadelphia Phillies at 7 1/2 games while reducing their magic number to nine with a 10-5 victory over the Nationals on Friday night.The victory was the sixth straight for the Braves and left the Nationals (74-74) facing near elimination at 9 1/2 games back. Atlanta’s magic number against Washington is down to six.Two-time defending National League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer couldn’t hold down the Braves in the series opener and now the Nationals turn to right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (5-3, 3.57 ERA), who just came off the disabled list. Teheran hasn’t shown the velocity he once had, but his command and off-speed pitches have been much better of late. “My last four starts I’ve been feeling really good,” Teheran said. “I’ve been feeling that I have all of my pitches, and I think that’s been the difference.”Teheran was at his worst in a home start against the Nationals in early April, giving up three homers and five runs in 2 1/3 shaky innings that included six hits and three walks.Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper took him deep in that game, as did former Nationals pitcher A.J. Cole, although Teheran escaped with a no-decision. Homers made for a rough debut season at SunTrust Park for Teheran last season. This season, walks at home and away have been the bigger issue.Opponents are batting just .198 against Teheran, but he has surrendered 73 walks in 159 1/3 innings.“I know every time that I walk (a batter), they score a run,” he said. “I try to put that to the side and try to make pitches.”Despite his rough outing against the Nationals, Teheran is 4-2 with a 3.81 ERA and 11 homers allowed in 15 home starts compared to 5-5 with a 4.13 ERA and 13 homers in 13 road starts.Teheran took a loss at Washington in mid-April but worked six solid innings. He is 6-5 with a 4.12 ERA in 20 career starts against the Nationals.Harper has feasted on Teheran http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-david-ortiz-jersey , batting .450 (18-for-40) with eight home runs.Hellickson, sidelined by a right wrist sprain, made his last appearance for Washington on Aug. 15 and has been limited to 18 starts this season because of two stints on the disabled list.Neither injury was caused making a pitch. He had to leave a start against the Braves on June 3 after two batters when he strained his right hamstring covering first base, then suffered the sprained wrist when he tumbled covering home plate.Hellickson is 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA in six career starts against the Braves. Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesThe New York Yankees have a Gary Sanchez problem that goes far beyond a strained groin and far beyond a game that might not have been lost with a little more effort from their 25-year-old catcher.This isn't about a game in July. It's about games in October, and whether the Yankees can win a championship with him behind the plate."No way they can win in the playoffs with Sanchez catching," one National League scout said Tuesday.I'm not sure I buy that, because Sanchez was the starting catcher for 12 of the 13 games the Yankees played last October, when they took the Houston Astros to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. They're 35-18 in the 53 games he has started behind the plate this season, which is better than their record in games when he hasn't been the starting catcher (28-17 entering play Tuesday).I do buy that Sanchez's continuing defensive struggles and his issues with concentration and hustle have presented Yankees manager Aaron Boone with the first big issue to solve in what has been an ultra-smooth first season in charge.It's easy to jump on Sanchez this week, because the two lack-of-hustle plays in Monday's 7-6 Yankees loss to the Tampa Bay Rays were so inexcusable鈥攅ven after finding out Sanchez was dealing with the groin issue that sent him back to the disabled list Tuesday. Sanchez allowed a run to score from second base when he didn't move fast enough to recover a passed ball (his 10th of the season, tied for most in the majors). And he was retired at first base for the game's final out, on a play in which the Rays first tried unsuccessfully to get Aaron Hicks at second base.It's easy to jump on Sanchez this year, because his .188 batting average (down from .278 last year) and .699 OPS (down from .876) have made it harder to overlook the transgressions in other parts of his game.It's easy to jump on Sanchez, because on his way through the Yankees farm system he sometimes had similar issues, with the Yankees using benchings, suspensions and "timeouts" to convince him he had to grow up. And because some of the same issues they tried to correct then鈥攃oncentration lapses and poor receiving technique鈥攈ave been so evident this season."What you're seeing now is what we all saw in the minor leagues before 2015 Bobby Doerr Jersey ," an American League scout said.Sanchez went back on the disabled list Tuesday, but his play remains a major concern for the Yankees.Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesThe Yankees stuck with Sanchez then, believing his strong right arm and powerful bat would make him worth the effort. It helped that despite the benchings and suspensions, Sanchez never had a reputation as a bad kid, just as one who needed to mature.Two years ago, it seemed they were right to wait. Sanchez came to the big leagues and hit 20 home runs in just 53 games, including 11 in one stunning 15-game stretch in August.It was easy to love Sanchez in 2016. When I did a story on him that September, I quoted a scout who pointed to Monument Park and said, "That's where he could end up."Then came 2017, when on the one hand Sanchez became just the second catcher born in the Dominican Republic to make an All-Star team (Tony Pena was the first). On the other hand, his defense was enough of an issue that then-Yankees manager Joe Girardi publicly scolded him and even benched him for a game in August.Boone has been more publicly supportive, to the point of telling reporters Tuesday at Tropicana Field that he wouldn't have benched Sanchez for Monday's transgressions. Sanchez didn't play Tuesday, but only because he went back on the disabled list with the recurrence of the groin injury that had already sidelined him for 20 games before he returned over the weekend.To his credit, Sanchez didn't blame his lack of hustle on the sore groin, which he said he felt tighten up on the first-inning passed ball."An injury is never an excuse," Sanchez said http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-jimmie-foxx-jersey , according to George A. King III of the New York Post. "If I'm on the field, I'm good to play. My answer is the same [as Monday]: I could have done a better job."Sanchez hasnt hit as well this year as Judge, but his 14 home runs are tied for first among major league catchers.Paul Bereswill/Getty ImagesEven that wasn't enough for many Yankees fans, or for rival scouts who have grown tired of watching Sanchez mess up over the years."He always owns up to it," one American League scout said. "But then it happens again."Even so, that same scout said, "I'd still take the bat."Four scouts interviewed Tuesday about Sanchez were unanimous in still believing in Sanchez's offensive potential. Some speculated his struggles have come from trying to pull the ball too often, while others wondered whether his problems on defense evolved into a confidence issue that has hurt his offense as well.All agreed the Sanchez problem is a challenging one for the Yankees. Their other young players cause them little concern, with Aaron Judge one of the most respected players in the game and Gleyber Torres fitting in seamlessly after a late-April promotion from the minor leagues.Sanchez is the one who complicates things. He always has been.When it was that way in the minor leagues, the Yankees decided it was worth the aggravation he caused to find out how good a player he could become. They may well decide that again, but after what happened Monday, it's a question they once again must answer. Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.